Epilogue
by RavenclawAmber
Summary: Stand-Alone Epilogue to Falling for Scorpius Malfoy. Happily Ever After for Rose and Scorpius. Read the note inside


_A/N: To those of you who read and reviewed Falling for Scorpius Malfoy: I appreciate every one of you. If you did not already know, I pulled it from the archive after reading and re-reading it. I lost my muse somewhere along the way and it all felt forced. I pulled it from the archive rather than abandoning it to the ever-growing unfinished fic pile. Thanks for sticking it out! _

_This was originally the Epilogue to Falling for Scorpius Malfoy. However, I believe that this Epilogue can somewhat stand on its own. _

_______

_Seven Years Post-FfSM_

_______

_Epilogue _

I was lying in the parlor of our Glasgow townhome. It wasn't unusual for me to find myself on this sofa with a good book, but on this day it was just a cup of herbal tea and some smelling salts. I'd been feeling unwell for the past couple days and had owled in sick to the Ministry today. Scorpius was away at school, and between the support of his family and my income, we lived rather comfortably.

I let my mind wander as I sipped slowly at my tea. We had been truly blessed. Things were wonderful between us. Though our families had come to accept us as a couple, it wasn't likely they'd ever be more than civil with one another. And save for some awkward family gatherings and muttered insults, they had been rather civil.

There was only one thing missing in our lives, and it wasn't for lack of trying. I sometimes thought I was going to crack under the pressure. My baby brother had married only two years ago, and already his second child was on the way. The constant speculation and pressure from our families was just a little bit overwhelming at times.

_Of course we want children_, I told people over and over again, _but it's just not the right time for us yet_. The reality of the matter was that we'd been trying for nearly four years now, and had yet to become pregnant. And yet, I fully believed that we were blessed in so many ways.

We were both in our chosen career fields. Scorpius had pursued Quidditch and played for four years with the Tornadoes before a shoulder injury caused his early retirement. Since the injury, he'd been working and going to school for a Veterinary position at the Magical Animal Sanctuary. And we were surrounded by loving friends and family. Even Albus had come around and made an effort to include Scorpius in family activities.

And we were still in love as ever, probably more so.

Through the years, this struggle that could have torn us apart only seemed to strengthen and unify us. After the first year of rigorous trying, timing and calculation, I was feeling disheartened. We went to see a specialist at St. Mungo's and discovered that there was nothing wrong with either of us, things just weren't coming to fruit as planned. After the second year, I had started to become depressed, but Scorpius brought me out of it.

He said, "Let's give up on _trying_." I'd nearly burst into tears before he explained, "Maybe we are trying too hard. Let's just relax. No more schedules. It takes the fun out of things."

And the passion in our marriage sparked back to life. He'd grinned wickedly at me and we had wound up naked on the kitchen table. We weren't having sex just to procreate anymore; it was for us just as much as it was for the chance of a baby. We were blessed to have each other.

I sighed. But that one thing was still there, always shadowing over our lives. I twisted the ring on my finger and remembered the day it had been given to me. It had been made especially for me to fit next to the Malfoy family heirloom. It was a thin, simple gold band that complemented the filigree of the sapphire ring next to it.

I remembered that Saturday in early August, I was wearing white dress robes and Scorpius wore black. My grandmother had flown to Scotland where the wedding was being held in the Malfoy's rambling rose garden. The priest blessed the rings for honor, faithfulness and fertility before Scorpius and I traded our vows.

The first two haven't been a problem, the third, however…

It hurt so much to be around my brother's family sometimes. And James' and Lily's families too. Every once in a while I just couldn't take it, so I skived off family events and found myself spending time with Astoria, Scorpius' mother. She was the only one we had told of our predicament and I was pretty sure she hadn't mentioned it to Mr. Malfoy. Though I was certain my own mother had figured it out by now, and probably Aunt Ginny too knowing her. They always tried to divert attention when someone would bring it up, and for that I would be ever grateful.

Apparently, it had taken Astoria a couple years to become pregnant as well, so she understood my heartache and then some. After she had Scorpius she had been unable to have any more children. The first time I spoke with her about it, she smiled at me and said, "Dearest, when it is time, the seed will be sown. Enjoy the time you have to yourself now, for a baby will change _everything_."

And so we had. I'd followed Scorpius on the circuit his last year in Quidditch, opting to work part-time. We'd traveled to Belgium, Spain, Japan and Brazil and we took frequent weekends to the Malfoy vacation home in France all the while giving it our best shot to make a baby. I grinned. No, it definitely wasn't for lack of effort.

I drifted off into a _very_ pleasant dreamful sleep.

I awoke sometime later when my husband Flooed home into the entryway. Our old Houself, Bess, promptly called us in to the dining room for dinner. The table was set in all white with a centerpiece of pale yellow flowers. The smell of roast chicken and vegetables assaulted me. I felt queasy.

"Is something wrong Mistress Rose?" Bess asked me worriedly.

"No," I shook my head and sat next to Scorpius who glanced at me worriedly.

"Are you sure?" he asked putting a comforting hand on my thigh. "It's not like you to owl in to work and you look a little green."

"I'm just not feeling well today, that's all. I had a lie down this afternoon and I feel much better," I tried to smile brightly. Scorpius raised an eyebrow as Bess served our food.

"Thank you," Scorpius said to the elf with a smile. "I'll clean up tonight, enjoy your weekend off." The elf smiled a toothy grin and bowed at us before leaving the room.

The smell of carrots was about to make me ill. "I think maybe I'll just go lay back down."

Scorpius frowned, "Have you eaten today?"

"I had bacon sandwiches for breakfast, and cakes for tea," I informed him defiantly as I left the room. I _needed_ to get away from the pungent aroma hovering over the dining table. I practically ran to our second floor bedroom and threw myself on the bed, taking deep breaths through my nose and out my mouth.

"Rose?" Scorpius said tentatively from the doorway.

I looked up at him and smiled weakly. "Sorry," I said sheepishly, still trying to breathe in through my nose and out through my mouth lest the nausea come back. In. Out. In. Out.

"I'm just worried about you," he said coming to sit on our bed next to me. "You haven't been acting like yourself for the past few weeks." Scorpius rested a hand on my forehead and frowned, "You aren't warm."

I took his hand in mine, "What do you mean for the last few weeks? I've only been sick since Tuesday." I replied anxiously. I hadn't been doing anything out of the ordinary.

He blushed and looked down at our entwined hands. "I mean, you, well—" he took a deep breath, "You haven't wanted to make love. You always say you're tired and… Did I do something?"

"We had sex just… well, almost three weeks ago," I said knitting my eyebrows together and sighing. "I'm sorry, Scorpius, I really just haven't really felt up to it."

"Are you depressed? Is something wrong?" he asked in rapid succession, worry clouding his face.

"No, everything is fine, I'm just feeling a little off. It's nothing you did, love," I brought his palm to my lips.

Scorpius lay down on the bed next do me and hesitantly he spoke, "Have you taken a pregnancy test?"

He knew the reason I stopped taking them. They were a constant source of bitter disappointment for me. "No, I haven't. I had my monthly almost four weeks ago," I said indignantly, "I've just got a tummy bug."

Scorpius sighed and snuggled up next to me. "What would you like for dinner?" he asked after a little while, "I'm starved, but I don't fancy eating alone."

"Curried beef," I said suddenly feeling hungry, "without carrots."

I went back to work on Monday, not feeling a whole lot better. The week passed and then another passed, and still I felt sick. I found myself leaving my trousers unbuttoned under my ministry robes, fully denying that Scorpius might have had some grounds for suggesting I take a pregnancy test. It was during the third week that I realized my period was indeed late. But still I waited.

Nearly another week passed before I found myself in the loo at my home, staring at myself.

I bit my lip as I looked in the mirror. I was gaining quite a bit of weight, though it was hard to tell with my robes on. Maybe it was the stress of working at the largest Library in Wizarding Europe, but I doubted it. A better guess was the three or four puddings I was eating every day lately.

I stripped off my robes and trousers and looked more critically at myself. My thighs were definitely larger, as were breasts, but nothing worth worrying about. My stomach, however, was round and protruding just a little, though not fatty at all. I eyed the medicine cabinet where I kept my potions. Perhaps it was time.

I was just about to poke my finger with the lancet when I saw Scorpius enter our bedroom in the mirror. I turned sideways to greet him and his eyes about bulged out of his skull. He hadn't seen me naked in nearly two months.

His gray eyes were twinkling when he saw the potions out on the counter. "I'm just about to take it," I said cautiously.

"Have you had your monthlies?"

"I—no, I'm a couple weeks late," I admitted. He put a hand on my not-so-flat stomach.

"A couple?"

"Nearly four. Maybe more. I'm not sure."

He stood behind me, his arms around my waist hands resting on my stomach and chin on my shoulder. I winced when I poked my finger and squeezed a drop of blood into the little bottle. It swirled on the surface of the potion and then disappeared. Scorpius kissed my neck and we waited.

Within seconds, steam rose from the potion and the liquid turned a violent shade of puce green. I stared at it in shock. I'd never seen that reaction before.

The test was positive.

I didn't move for a full minute until Scorpius whispered tentatively, "Rose?" I blinked twice and grinned before turning and throwing myself into his arms.

"We did it!" I squealed in delight.

Four days later I was up on the table at the healer's office. Scorpius stood beside me as the woman ran her wand over my belly. She muttered a few incantations, plucked a hair from my head and took a drop of blood. She stirred potions on the counter and frowned at them before looking at me sternly. "How long ago did you say your last menstrual cycle was, Mrs. Malfoy?"

"Er, about eight weeks ago."

Healer Smith pushed her horn rimmed glasses back up on her nose, muttered a couple times and took another drop of blood. "This test says you are already in your second trimester, Mrs. Malfoy."

"She's what?" Scorpius squeaked.

"Twelve weeks, give or take a week," but Healer Smith was still frowning, "But your bump is telling a different story."

Scorpius glanced at me worriedly. "What do you mean?" I asked tentatively.

"I've got one more test to do," she said ignoring my question.

The healer ran her wand over my stomach and said, "_Sonoro Foetalis_," she jabbed her wand toward my stomach and listened to a strange sound, a fast thumping. She moved the wand to the other side of my stomach, and the sound echoed. She jotted down a couple notes and motioned Scorpius to sit down.

"Is there a problem?" he asked nervously.

"That depends…" the old witch said with a smile, "I know you two have been trying for quite some time, so you should be prepared, though I'm not sure you could ever really be prepared for this, par say…" she paused and looked over her glasses at us. "Scorpius, Rose, you're having twins."


End file.
